• 2005-06
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $39.0 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $23.0 million
• 2006-07
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $44.0 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $28.0 million
• 2007-08
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $50.3 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $34.3 million
• 2008-09
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $56.7 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $40.7 million
• 2009-10
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $56.8 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $40.8 million
• 2010-11
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $59.4 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $43.4 million
• 2011-12
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $64.3 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $48.3 million

Rapid league revenue expansion after the 2005 lockout led to unexpected consequences and cap challenges for small-market teams, even pushing some into bankruptcy.  While the cap ceiling rose 65% from 2005 to 2012, the cap floor rose an incredible 110%.

In a league with a handful of large market teams driving overall business growth (New York, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston made up over 25% of 2014 league revenues), minimal revenue growth in smaller markets meant franchises were forced to overspend on player salaries.

The 2013 CBA attempted to address this issue by adjusting the calculation for the ceiling/floor to be based on a percentage instead of a fixed dollar amount.  Anchoring to a percentage means the cap ceiling and floor will grow at exactly the same rate going forward.

Beginning with the 2013-14 season, the salary cap ceiling/floor were set at 15 percent above/below the salary cap midpoint:

• 2013
  • Salary Cap Ceiling (pro-rated): $70.2 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $44.0 million
• 2013-14
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $64.3 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $47.5 million
• 2014-15
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $69.0 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $51.0 million
• 2015-16
  • Salary Cap Ceiling: $71.4 million
  • Salary Cap Floor: $52.8 million